Teresa R. Stephens

I was advised to meet with Atty Teresa Stephen's, being told by her firm's operator that she specialized in small business and personal bankruptcies. I spent over an hour filling out her questionnaire in advance and gathering the requested documents. I arrived on time. I waited over 15 minutes until ...Ms. Stephens strolled in from lunch. She approached me in the lobby (didn't offer a handshake or ask my name) with her lunch leftovers in hand, and proceeded to tell me all the reasons why there was no point in us meeting. She said didn't handle business bankruptcies and would give me the name of another lawyer. She went as far as to say it wasn't worth "wasting either of our time going in her office", and proceeded to flip through the questionnaire in the lobby - pointing out items that were blank. Not asking any questions, or if those things weren't applicable, just pointing them out and telling me I needed to be more thorough for the next lawyer. She didn't ask any questions or look through any of the requested financial documents. The entire encounter lasted approximately 5 minutes. I asked her if she thought I could speak with someone else today since I'd already taken the time off work and made the trip - she chuckled as though it was a ridiculous question. I asked her why an appointment had been made with her if she didn't handle small business bankruptcies, she informed me that her operators/receptionists are not lawyers and don't know anything about the law. I realize that her "consultations" are offered for free, and I guess I should have expected what I paid for. The lack of professionalism and level of disregard for privacy and comfort was appalling. Clients should be greeted by name. Clients should be offered a handshake. Clients should be taken into a private office before their personal situations are discussed. And a potential client should at least have their situation be heard before being dismissed. This is how every client of every business should be handled - but especially if you are in a business where your clients are dealing with very unpleasant, very private and very stressful financial situations. No worries, Ms. Stevens got her wish. She didn't have to spend the last few hours of her clearly very casual Friday dealing with my financial problems. Maybe, because I was also dressed for casual Friday, I didn't look like someone who would make her any money. Maybe she just didn't feel like working on Friday afternoon. But maybe she's always unpleasant and dismissive. She did give me the name of an attorney, it was the one useful thing she offered me. But after leaving I realized that I didn't feel good about accepting her recommendation -assuming that she would probably recommend somebody of similar quality and demeanor. I instead went online and did my own research, through avvo.com, and ended up speaking with a wonderful attorney who was professional, courteous and extremely helpful. I'll update a review for him once I hire him.